This invention is an improvement of my invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,793.
The invention relates to testing equipment for printed circuit boards, and more particularly to such equipment in which a head part wired for a particular board may be easily removed and replaced with another head wired for another circuit board to be tested. In the aforesaid patent the head was generally secured to a base so as to remain so, and the entire tester generally would be removed from the testing console and replaced with another complete tester connected to the console for a different board to be tested. However, it should be noted in the above patent that arrangements were provided for testing different boards on one head. This is also possible with the present invention.
In the present invention the head and base are easily separable so that the base may remain fixed to the console and a head adapted to test a particular circuit board may be removed and replaced by another head adapted to test a different circuit or circuits.
The base is adapted to remain on the console with a multiplicity of electrical contacts available for connection to those in the console. The contacts and wires in the base extending from the console connections are fitted into a plurality of multiple connectors which are secured to the base. Each of these base connectors is adapted to be mated with a matching connector in the head. The head connectors have only the number of contacts secured therein as is required for the testing of a particular circuit board to be positioned on the head. During the testing operation, the tested circuits on the board are caused to be moved into contact with the electrical contacts wiped to the head connectors.
As in the aforesaid patent, vacuum or pressure means may be provided to move the circuit on the circuit board being tested into contact with the electrical contacts provided in the head for a particular circuit to be tested. The vacuum or pressure-providing arrangements in this invention are fully disclosed in the aforesaid patent.